Last Month in Review: September 2012

Yay--my favorite YA this year pubbed this month!

September was a moderately good reading month for me, full of mostly lighter fare or YA. In chronological order of finishing, they are:

1. Three Times Lucky: YA audio book, good production, albeit with a reader who overdoes the Southern accent in her performance.

2. Hikikomori and the Rental Sister by Jeff Backhaus. Review here. A slim tome but not a light one.

3. We Sinners by Hannah Pylvainen. An interesting debut novel about a very large, ultra-conservative Christian family(it's a little-known sect of Lutheranism) told in multiple voices and what it's like to subsume oneself in a family like that and what it means to break away. Each chapter takes one family member's point of view, so while it lacks cohesion as linear story, the portrait of the family itself shines forth in all of its glory and horror.

4. These Things Happen by Richard Kramer. Super funny, despite covering some darker issues. Review here.

5. Reached by Ally Condie. Third book in a YA trilogy, and one that stands on its own as well as the conclusion to the overall story.

6. Period 8 by Chris Crutcher. A YA book. Review probably forthcoming.

7. The Aviator's Wife by Melody Benjamin. I can't tell if this book was awful or if it did just what the author intended by provoking a strong reaction. Review here.

8. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes. My face was a runny mess of tears and snot by the time I finished reading the last page.  Utterly predictable in plot but a good story nonetheless.  Review forthcoming.

9. The Ashford Affair by Lauren Willig.  Totally disappointing.  Review scheduled for next week.

9 1/2. Christmas at Eagle Pond by Donald Hall. This lovely-looking book is only 75 pages long, so I can't quite justify counting it on its own as part of the books I've read this month.  It's a sweet and nostalgic Christmas memory that never happened, and Mary Azarian's illustrations are just perfect for it.